Many family doctors are not carrying in their GP bags all the emergency drugs they are recommended to carry and where their bags do carry the full range, a lot of the drugs are out of date.
This finding comes from a sample study of 30 doctors' bags in the Munster region which was presented at the annual conference of the Irish College of General Practitioners in Galway at the weekend.
Researcher Dr Ian Bell found one quarter of the GP bags, which accompany doctors on emergency call-outs, did not carry aspirin, important in the treatment of heart attack patients; half were unprepared for an unconscious hypoglycaemic patient, a patient in a diabetic coma due to a low blood sugar, and only 57 per cent had adequate Benzyl-penicillin, which is used immediately when meningitis is suspected.
More startling was the finding that 80 per cent did not carry adrenaline that was in date.
This is an emergency treatment for patients who suffer anaphylactic shock.
Dr Bell concluded that despite the fact that over half the GPs checked their bags at least every three months, many were unprepared for some lifethreatening emergencies.
"It raises important questions for best patient care, practice management and the possibility of litigation," he said.
Dr Bell was presented with an award for his research by the ICGP.
Meanwhile, a separate study presented at the conference demonstrated that violence is a "major problem" for doctors' receptionists with almost two thirds saying they had experienced violence in their workplace. In 98 per cent of cases the perpetrator was a patient.
The receptionists surveyed came from a random sample of 400 general practices in two former health board areas, the Western Health Board region and the Northern Area Health Board (NAHB), which covers mainly north Dublin.
Overall some 62 per cent of them said they experienced violence, but the problem was worst in the NAHB region.
Virtually all who had experienced violence had suffered verbal abuse, but almost one third had also experienced threats of physical abuse.
Some 6 per cent experienced physical abuse.